Technology
In the game technology is represented by a technology level that represents the tools, hardware, and software that help your nation do what it does... better (In particular military). Technology works similar to infrastructure in the game but is much more expensive at a base cost of $10,000 plus a per level increase (You can purchase technology at fractions of levels for less than $10K, but you must have at least $5,000 available). Like infrastructure, technology cost experiences several jumps at key levels. You cannot sell technology as you can land or infrastructure. Also, the price does increase due to supply and demand, but unlike infrastructure, technology does not have a maintenance cost. You can reduce the cost or increase the effectiveness of technology through certain resources and nation improvements. Technology increases your nation strength as well as your people's literacy rate. Literacy rate is only used for the Scholar resource; Nation Strength determines which nations are in your range to attack. Economic benefits Technology makes your people happy. Here's how the game currently figures it: * Technology = 0 then happiness = -1 * Technology > 0 and ≤ .5 then happiness = +0 * Technology > .5 and ≤ 1 then happiness = +1 * Technology > 1 and ≤ 3 then happiness = +2 * Technology > 3 and ≤ 6 then happiness = +3 * Technology > 6 and ≤ 10 then happiness = +4 * Technology > 10 and ≤ 15 then happiness = +5 * Technology > 15 then happiness = 5 + (Techpurchased * .02) up to level 200 Technology decreases infrastructure upkeep costs up to a maximum 10% discount based on the following formula: (2 * Technology Level) / Nation Strength = Percent off infrastructure upkeep bill Technology level 6 or greater also helps your environment. Military benefits Battle outcomes are affected by your technology level. Having a higher technology level allows you to equip your soldiers with better weapons and get more kills while attacking and defending. Here's the current equation: Normal Number of Kills + (Normal Number of Kills * Tech Purchased * 10%) (Though admin states that the equation is: "Normal Number of Kills * (Technology Purchased * 10%)", this means that having 0 tech would reduce your kills to 0.) This means that, if in a regular battle with a technology level of 0 you would normally get 100 kills, then you would get 50 more kills (150) if you had a technology level of 5. (100 + 100(5*.10) = 150) Technology also allows you to purchase more powerful aircraft and increases the effectiveness of both tanks and cruise missiles. Other benefits In addition to the above benefits, technology is also required in order to receive certain improvements to your nation: * Automobiles - Level 5 * Construction - Level 5 * Tanks - Level 10 * Microchips - Level 10 * Radiation Cleanup - Level 15 * Cruise Missiles - Level 15 * The most basic aircraft - Level 30 * Nuclear Weapons - Level 75 Things that reduce Technology costs Like infrastructure, Technology costs can be reduced by many factors such as: * The resource Gold (-5%) * The bonus resource Microchips (-8%) * Improvements like Universities (-10%) A nation may have two Universities, the discount is stacked for a total of (-20%). * National Wonders, including a Great University (-10%), National Research Lab (-3%), and Space Program (-3%) In total, Technology costs can be reduced 41.8% (i.e. the minimum technology cost multiplier is 0.95 * 0.92 * 0.8 * 0.9 * 0.97 * 0.97 = 0.592, which is a 41.8% discount). Purchasing tips Technology Price Jumps From tech level 0 to 4.5, tech is $10,000 per level. At level 5, it makes a price jump of $2,500 to $12,500. After tech level 5, the cost of technology increases by $50 for every half-level, and once every number of levels there is a price jump. The first price jumps are: +$2500 at level 5, for a total tech price of $12,500 +$1000 at level 8, for a total tech price of $13,800 +$1000 at level 10, for a total tech price of $15,000 +$2000 at level 15, for a total tech price of $17,500 +$2000 at level 30, for a total tech price of $21,000 +$2000 at level 50, for a total tech price of $25,000 +$2000 at level 75, for a total tech price of $29,500 +$2000 at level 100, for a total tech price of $34,000 One can avoid the price jumps by buying tech up to one-half level below the price jump, then buying a large amount of technology in a single purchase. The earliest opportunity to do this is to buy tech up to level 4.5, then buy the maximum purchase of 10 tech levels, bringing one's tech up to 14.5. -That would allow one to avoid the price jumps at levels 5, 8, and 10 when purchasing those 10 levels of tech. Much less importantly, it would also allow one to avoid the $50 price increments that occur at every half-level when purchasing those 10 levels of tech. It would also bring one's tech level immediately below the next price jump at level 15, thus positioning oneself to make another large tech purchase. Don't purchase a lot of technology until your nation is older. It's generally recommended to wait to buy a lot of tech until you can at least purchase half a level of tech without having to save up. Technology is very useful (improves your military, population happiness, and environment), however you don't want to stunt your nation's growth by saving up for a lot of technology. As technology gets more expensive you may want to consider saving up and buying it in blocks of 10 (the maximum amount) so you can get the lowest costs. But again, make sure you don't stunt your nation's growth by doing this (make sure the benefits outweigh the costs). Tech starts out at $10K per level (this is unless you have gold as one of your resources, then its $9.5k), but after 5 tech the price increases per level. Sell your technology when you're young to older nations. The cost of technology goes up drastically as you buy more. However, technology and money can both be given to another nation as foreign aid. You must have at least 5 technology in order to do this. Try finding older nations willing to buy some from you for a cheaper price than what they can buy. If it costs you $15k a level and them $45k a level, it is better to buy it from you for $30k a level. Common prices in-game are $3 million for 50 or 100 tech. Technology graphics There are various technology graphics that can appear in the technology purchase screen. There are 18 different possible images. The specific image that appears depends on your level of technology. The first one is an image of a telegraph machine. At first, for the first 6 levels of technology, the technology graphic changes with every level of technology, but as technology increases, it takes an increasingly large number of tech levels to get to a new technology graphic. Category:HowtoPlay